NIMAC: Local officials lobby for Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station

by jmaloni

Fri, May 31st 2013 07:00 am

A delegation of local
officials and community leaders, organized by the Niagara Military Affairs
Council, returned last week from a two-day visit to Washington, D.C., where the
group met with federal elected officials and Air Force leadership.

The meetings on Capitol
Hill and the Pentagon were organized by Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Washington, D.C.,
office. NIMAC and Niagara County are partnering in grants awarded by New York
earlier this year to promote growth at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station.

"This trip was
especially important this year due to the many changes that continue to take
place within our nation's military, including a change of missions for the
107th Airlift Wing over the next few years," Merrell Lane, NIMAC chairman,
said.

The goal of the meetings
was to make the elected officials aware of specific needs and challenges facing
the NFARS and to hear directly from the nation's military leaders about its
long-range plans for bases like Niagara Falls.

John Cooper Sr., NIMAC
vice chairman, stated, "as an organization we realize that major decisions made
about our base are centered in Washington, D.C., and we need to stay connected
with those in government and military leadership."

Participating
in the meetings were Lane; Cooper; William "Robin" Pfeil, NIMAC director,
Strategic Committee chairman, retired USAF colonel and a former vice commander
of the 914th Airlift Wing; Thomas Keough, NIMAC director, retired USAF colonel
and a former vice commander of the 107th Air Refueling Wing; Jeffrey Glatz,
Niagara County manager, retired lieutenant colonel from the 914th Airlift Wing;
David Godfrey, Niagara County legislator, Vietnam veteran, U.S. Marine Corps;
Robert Ortt II, North Tonawanda mayor and Army National Guard veteran of
Operation Enduring Freedom; Robert Cliffe, Town of Wheatfield supervisor; Marc
Smith, Town of Lockport supervisor; Samuel Ferraro, Niagara County commissioner
of economic development; and Rachel Lipsey from Cuomo's Washington office.

The
group met with several elected officials, including U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer,
staff from U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's office, Congressman Chris Collins,
Congressman Brian Higgins and staff from the Senate Armed Services Committee
and Government Accountability Office.

At the Pentagon, they
met with Brigadier Gen. Bruce Prunk, special assistant to the director of the
Air National Guard; Major Gen. Richard Haddad, deputy to the chief of the Air
Force Reserve; Hon. Kathleen Ferguson, assistant secretary of the Air Force for
installations, environment and logistics; and William Booth, deputy assistant
secretary of the Air Force (reserve affairs).

The
Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station is the only USAF base in the state of New
York, the largest federal facility in our region and the largest employer in
Niagara County. NIMAC has worked on behalf of the NFARS since 1996 in an effort
to improve infrastructure and efficiencies. An aggressive long-term strategy
for growth has paid off with a modern facility for the future.